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POPSSolar blimp to fly from NYC to Paris, Rests on Land or Water The folks at Turtle Airships don’t like calling their aircraft a ‘blimp’: “It is a rigid shelled, amphibious, solar powered, all weather, FAST aircraft that is lifted by helium, but it is not a blimp.” Even so, it's a blimp. Nasty memories of the Hindenburg aside, it may not be long before passengers are flying comfortably from New York to Paris– and beyond– aboard Turtle Airships.
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POPSFrom Jet Man to Pedal Man?
continues: "It's all going right. He is hovering about 10 metres from the water and is making a really good go of it." It marks the second attempt at the challenge by Rousson after he was forced to postpone a previous bid in June because strong winds made the feat too hazardous. The challenge is a long-held dream for Rousson, whose love affair with aviation grew as a child after watching Steven Spielberg's alien adventure and led to him gaining a pilot's licence. He said: "When I was young, I saw the movie and watched the little guy pedalling on a bike flying in front of the moon with ET. I always wanted to fly." Rousson had been banking on a five-hour wind-free timeframe to enable him to set off. The 16-metre-long helium-filled blimp, nicknamed "Miss Louise" after his former girlfriend, requires the wind should be gusting no more than two knots to become airborne. During the challenge, Rousson is sitting underneath the envelope in a carbon fibre gondola, powering th
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POPSThe Future Of Air Travel? Only if the helium supply is better managed. It is known to be in short supply. The details of the craft are interesting, just the same. Electric engines are a novelty, too.
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POPSSteampunk Introduction If you've heard about the retro steampunk technology movement, this is a great article to read to find out more. Many of the major players are interviewed.
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POPSThe zeppelins are returning Stairway to heaven? Finally, in answer to the inevitable question, the British rock group Led Zeppelin has no connection whatsoever with the Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik GmbH or any airship. The name was a play on the "lead balloon" concept. However, as Airship Ventures points out, the boarding gangway used for the original zeppelin passenger liners in the 1920s and 1930s was called the himmelstreppe, German for "Stairway to Heaven," which is also the name of a hit song that Led Zeppelin released in 1971.
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